How bad do things have to be for the Amish to be drawn out of their separatist convictions and into an American voting booth? This is a question that turned over in my mind as my family stepped off our annual buggy ride in Northern Indiana.
For the last few years, our family has taken a week to travel from the crush of the East Coast to the bucolic fields of the Midwest. And visiting a certain Amish community, one where my ancestors once farmed, we took our annual tour of the farms and fields by way of horse and buggy. Along the way, we conversed with an elderly gentleman, an Old-Order Amish tour guide, who told us how the Amish live, move, and have their being.
This is a well-worn story is one my children know well today, but this year’s conversation included something new and unexpected—a discussion about politics, God’s providence in sparing Donald Trump’s life, and the fact that some Amish, concerned with how the country is going, are actually going to the polls to vote.
Historically, Anabaptists like the Amish have avoided voting. Most of their bishops discourage it, as does their culture of separation from the world. Such political reservation also resonates with their opposition to the sword. As the sixth point of their Schleitheim Confession (1527) explains, Anabaptists avoid worldly uses of power—whether magisterial or militaristic. This is what makes them conscientious objectors in war and uninterested in running for office. It also explains why voting is not a high priority, and why I was surprised to hear our tour guide express concern about the political affairs or our nation.
In almost hushed tones, he admitted that the Amish were greatly concerned about America, and as tax-paying citizens, some were planning to exercise their right to vote in the coming election. Anecdotal as this illustration is, it finds support in the fact that the Amish now have their own Political Action Committee (AmishPAC.com), and there are reports that some political strategists are even targeting this large and growing community.
Long story short, the Amish, or some of them at least, are either conforming to the world around them, or they are waking up to see how the world is threatening their tranquil way of life. As globalism rises, along with the pressure brought about by the regulatory state, even farmers feel the effects of government overreach. And thus, some of them—even those whose theological commitments would push them towards separatism—are making their vote count. In this way, the Amish voting bloc is joining a conversation that has engulfed the rest of the country.
Every four years, and at many times in between, Americans are called upon to exercise wisdom in casting their ballot for a civil magistrate. In our largely two-party system, we are tasked to cast a vote for the one who will do the most good (or the least harm) for the country, the state, the city, or the township. In this way, voting is something entrusted to citizens in our country, and it is therefore a stewardship to exercise well.
And more than just a matter of stewardship, it is also a moral act. That is not to say, as Trent Hunter will explain further in our first longform, that voting is a sacrament for the pious. Rather, it is to say that in our democratic republic, the persons we chose for office—and the policies and personnel that they will employ—are matters of good and evil, right and wrong. It is foolhardy as Christians who live Coram Deo (before the face of God) to cast a ballot without considering the consequences of candidates in view. Yet, it is equally foolhardy, as men and women who trust in the sovereignty to God, to make the claim that this is the most important election in American history.
To be certain, the presidential election of 2024 is the most important election of this year. And, for reasons that will be explored this month, it is one that will have significant impact for decades to come. Indeed, it is not too much to say that the two presidential candidates (Donald Trump and Kamala Harris) provide two different futures for America, or at least they offer radically different approaches to what this nation “could be, unburdened by what has been” (To quote an over-used phrase by one of these candidates!).
Truly, the debates related to presidential election are foundational to our nations identity. But they are related to matters foundational for humanity, life, gender, marriage, children, and types of freedoms. Most recently, Brazil barred the use of X, in an effort to control free speech on social media. And this came about as that nation elected a socialist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2022. Similarly, in recent days Enoch Burke, a Christian teacher in Ireland, was arrested for his refusal to swallow the transgender ideology being crammed down his throat. And this too came in the wake of an election, where the openly gay Leo Vadarkar appointed Barry O’Donnell—the very judge who issued the arrest warrant for Burke.
In short, elections have consequences, and those consequences continue to having increasingly negative impacts on Christians and all those who love life, liberty, and the free possession of property. Still, far more than free markets and freedom of speech, elections have impact on the church and her ability to gather. They also impact the freedom for Christians to exercise their faith in the workplace. And they impact children, and whether or not parents have a right to know or oppose the ideologies put forward in schools. More positively, elections in places like Louisiana, have made it possible for the Ten Commandments to be put back in schools. And, as Albert Mohler recently declared, this is a “good thing” that all Christians should affirm.
Long story short, as this nation continues to have elections, Christians have a duty to inform themselves of the candidates and to vote wisely. As with anything we do, we should strive to vote for the glory of God. Yet, what does that mean? Must we only vote for Christians? Can we vote for the lesser of two evils? Should we avoid voting altogether, because giving the sword to any fallible politician is liable to empower a man or woman to do terrible things?
These are important questions, and they are being asked in unexpected places today. Ironically, as I began writing this intermission in the same Amish town of my ancestor’s upbringing, I overheard a table conversation between two Amish and two “English” (as outsiders are called there). They were talking politics, the socialism of Kamala Harris, and a rising concern for their children and grandchildren. Truly, wise voters will not simply think of themselves and what is best for the country merely today. Instead, they will be informed by the things that matter most to God, and they will vote accordingly for this and the next generation .
Indeed, we can take comfort in knowing that the eternal God is sovereign over all things, including elections that are tampered with and others that result in the “wrong” candidate rising to power. Nevertheless, such confidence in God’s providence should not make us less interested in November’s election; it should motivate us to influence others for the sake of Christ and his kingdom, knowing that elections have consequences for the church and the freedom of her ministers and members. To that end, we pick up the theme of voting and voting to the glory of God.
Voting to the Glory of God
In September, we will consider this vital theme—Voting to the Glory of God—and we will offer a wide variety of essays that provide you with biblical wisdom for living in a politically turbulent age. Indeed, we do not believe that best way forward is for Christian to NOT vote, which seems to be a way in which many theological purists are threatening. Instead, we want to offer cogent arguments for submitting a ballot to the glory of God in faith, hope, and love. But to do that requires understanding what voting is and what voting isn’t.
To provide something of a preview of this month, therefore, these essays will include a theological appraisal of the Republican and Democrat platforms. Likewise, we will consider what it means to be pro-life when one candidate is committed to killing babies in the womb and the other is non-committal in stopping abortion. We will also attempt to offer counsel on a host of individual subjects from borders and illegal immigration to rigged elections and the importance of prayer.
As the month goes, I suspect that some articles will be more controversial than others. But from the outset, let me say that our aim in this month, like every month, is to slow down and to help people think Christianly. We want to help you by offering biblical and theological resources that inform your political activities.
By now, it should not be a surprise that our biblical convictions lead us at Christ Over All to be politically conservative. But politically conservative does not mean we are beholden to a certain party. It means that we do not see each party as equally viable for Christians. And as the month goes on, we will explain what that means and how that informs our political theory and political actions. So, stayed tuned all month as we gear up for a November election.
Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts: Plundering Plato without Becoming a Platonist
Before moving to September, however, we need to reflect on the significant contributions of August. In this month, we had a triple dose of longforms, as Robert Lyon offered a two-part appraisal of Christian Platonism (Part 1 and Part 2) and Pierce Taylor Hibbs argued for the superlative nature of “revelational epistemology.” You can find all three of these longforms read on our podcast.
At the same time, our podcast also interviewed Louis Markos, a proponent of Plato, and Leonardo Di Chirico, who has recently written a book on Thomas Aquinas and how evangelicals should understand this theological giant. Combined with our interviews of Robert Lyon and Pierce Hibbs, there is plenty to listen to this month.
Equally, this month engages countless others—both historic theologians and modern—who are attempting to understand the world as God made it. Today, we live at time when everything is plastic and nothing is seen to be fixed. In this context, there is a growing desire to return to the metaphysics (or view of reality) of Thomas Aquinas and other Early Church theologians, who applied the metaphysical ideas of Plato and Aristotle to the doctrines of God and Christ. Such is the context for this month, and the need to keep our eyes on Scripture.
With appreciation for the thought of Greco-Roman philosophers, we argued that biblical epistemology—how the Bible is our foundation for knowledge—of Herman Bavinck, John Owen, Cornelius Van Til and others provided a better way forward. Instead of following Hans Boersma, who has said that without Plato we cannot understand our Bible, we have argued for the sufficiency of Scripture and the need to evaluate all other metaphysical claims under God’s special revelation. In short, we believe that Scripture is the best source for doing theology, and in the resources listed below, you can find a host of reasons why. The three longform essays are listed first, followed by the podcasts, followed by the concise articles.
- What is Christian Platonism? (Part 1): An Introduction in Three Steps by Robert Lyon • What is Christian Platonism and where did it come from? Answers to these questions and more lie ahead. READ ESSAY
- What is Christian Platonism? (Part 2): A Preliminary Critique by Robert Lyon • Having examined what Christian Platonism is in Part One, we turn now to an assessment of this system. READ ESSAY
- Can You Understand a Kangaroo Without a Bible? Why I Hold a Revelational Epistemology by Pierce Taylor Hibbs • Nothing exists outside of the lordship of Jesus Christ, and this includes even our own knowledge of the world. READ ESSAY
- “What is Christian Platonism?” • Episode 3.39 • Robert Lyon, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview
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“What is Christian Platonism? (Part 1): An Introduction in Three Steps” Episode 3.37 • Robert Lyon • Reading
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“What is Christian Platonism? (Part 2): A Preliminary Critique” • Episode 3.38 • Robert Lyon • Reading
- “Can You Understand a Kangaroo Without a Bible? Why I Hold a Revelational Epistemology” • episode 3.40 • Pierce Taylor Hibbs • Reading
- “ENCORE: Brave New World: A Warning Without Hope” • Episode 3.41 • Louis Markos, David Schrock, Brad Green • Interview
- “Can You Understand a Kangaroo Without a Bible? Why I Hold a Revelational Epistemology” • Episode 3.42 • Pierce Taylor Hibbs, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview
- “A Discussion on Plato” • Episode 3.43 • Louis Markos, David Schrock, Brad Green • Interview
- “A Discussion on Aquinas” • Episode 3.44 • Leonardo De Chirico, David Schrock, Brad Green • Interview
- The Wild Wild West, The Sirens of Rome, and the Hermeneutics of Christian Platonism by Knox Brown • If we read the Bible as Christian Platonists, we’re bound to end up in one of two places: the Wild West or allured by Rome’s siren song. Let’s not go there. READ ARTICLE
- Plato in the Cave of Hell: The Inability of Human Reason to Save by Ryan Currie • Sin-sick minds cannot think their way to salvation. If we are to escape the darkness, we must be rescued by a savior outside of ourselves. READ ARTICLE
- The Thorny Relationship of Theology and Philosophy: Or, Heidegger and a Christian Walk into a Coffee Shop by Brad Green • A Christian and an atheist philosopher walk into a coffee shop. What happens next? READ ARTICLE
- Taking Every Thought Captive to Christ (Colossians 2:6–10) by Stephen Wellum • If Christ is truly over all, then he is also over human wisdom and philosophy. May we who have been graciously granted the mind of Christ subject all our thoughts to him. READ ARTICLE
- Alternative Philosophical Views of Reality by Vern Poythress • In this excerpt, Dr. Vern Poythress gives a crash course in various philosophical views. READ ARTICLE
- Plato: Friend, Enemy, or Frenemy of the Gospel? by David Talcott • Plato’s philosophy is much closer to a biblical worldview than many other schools of thought. In the end, however, it still falls short of the true gospel message. READ ARTICLE
- Know Scripture, No Need for Platonism: Revelational Epistemology Has Priority Over Remnantal Sophistry by Michael Carlino • Is Christian Platonism a necessary lens for rightly interpreting the Bible? Absolutely not! Scripture provides its own worldview and does not depend upon any worldly philosophy. READ ARTICLE
- Is Platonic Language a Capitulation? by Randall K. Johnson • If we use Platonic language in Christian theology, we must always remember that God exists outside of and apart from his creation. If we fail to do that, we have fundamentally misunderstood who God is as revealed in Scripture. READ ARTICLE
- No Plato, Yes Scripture: Why We Don’t Need Plato to Tell Us How to Understand Our Bibles by Chris Bolt • The ingredients for sound Christian doctrine may occasionally be found in Plato, but they are always found in Scripture. So let’s do theology from Scripture and not any other philosophy. READ ARTICLE
- The Neo-Calvinist Dutchman and the Angelic Doctor at The Olympic Shooting Range: Bavinck and Aquinas on the Knowledge of God by Robert Lyon • Thomas Aquinas and Herman Bavinck face off in a match of theological marksmanship. Who will get the gold? READ ARTICLE
Christ Over All News and Notes
To finish, let me invite you to celebrate Christ Over All’s second birthday.
On September 6, 2022 Christ Over All launched. During that first month, all our board members took turns explaining what this ministry was all about. In the second month, we outlined the book A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer. From the beginning, Schaeffer’s commitment to evangelism, the church, and engaging the culture with a rigorous commitment to the Bible has been a model for this ministry.
And since that Fall, the Lord has enlarged Christ Over All to reach more than 400,000 unique visitors in two years. Every month, the number of readers and listeners grows, and along the way, we have had the joy of meeting many of you at various conferences and conventions. We have also been blessed by the number of pastors, theologians, scholars, and home school moms who have written for us, and others who have shared with us the impact this ministry has had on them and their churches. In a word, we are grateful to God for the way he has answered prayer and confirmed the work of our hands.
At the same time, we could not maintain this ministry without you and those who have given to Christ Over All. For more than two years, we have run this ministry on a shoestring budget. And going forward, we know that we need God to raise up partners—both individuals and churches—so that we can grow to meet the increasing demands of this ministry. To that end, we are asking you to celebrate with us our second birthday by contributing to ministry.
If Christ Over All has blessed you over the last two years, we are asking you to consider buying us the equivalent of a $5 cupcake, a $10 sundae, or a $25 birthday cake. You can certainly give more, but our strategy for raising funds this year is to find a few hundred people who would be willing to give a little to help cover the costs of editing, publishing, promoting, and podcasting.
Equally, if you are on the inter-webs, and see this birthday fundraiser, please consider sharing it with others. Christ Over All is not without funds, but neither do we have in the bank what is needed to complete the year. As a ministry begun by pastors and theologians, we are more skilled in turning arguments than raising money. And so, we are asking you to consider giving thanks to God for the grace he has given to all of us by telling others and/or giving a birthday gift to Christ Over All.
To do that, you can give at our website. If you would like to become a monthly partner, you can also reach out to us by email, where we can set up a time to talk more about future ministry ideas. In all, we bless God for his sustaining grace and the joys he has given to us to bring these resources to you. We truly believe Christ is over all things, including Christ Over All.
And so, as I close this month’s newsletter, I am reminded that Christ is Lord over our finances as well. Truly, all things are under his feet, including the cattle on a thousand hills and the resources needed to make this ministry last. With that in mind, let us exalt Christ and trust him for our daily bread and for the chance to continue to proclaim the Lordship of Christ over all things.
Soli Deo Gloria!
